planetoftheapesfandomcom-20200223-history
Doug Moench
Doug Moench is a comic book writer who has contributed material to both Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Moench - known to many 'Bronze Age' comic collectors for his long run on Marvel’s Master of Kung-Fu where his collaborations with artists Paul Gulacy, Mike Zeck, and Gene Day turned the book into a cult favorite - had received the call from Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief Roy Thomas in 1972 asking, "Why don’t you come to New York and work for Marvel?". While there, he also created and wrote a lengthy run on Marvel’s Moon Knight, and later had a long association with Batman, writing many of DC’s Bat-titles including Batman and Detective Comics, as well as graphic novels and 'Elseworlds' stories. Along the way he wrote for just about every major Marvel character and developed his creator-owned Six From Sirius at Marvel’s Epic line with fellow Master of Kung-Fu alumni Paul Gulacy.Doug Moench interview, Comic Book Marketplace, May 1999 In 1974, Moench was tasked with scripting the movie adaptations and original stories for Marvel's new Planet of the Apes Magazine, which he continued to do up until the magazine's cancellation in 1977. Speaking in 1999 about his work on Marvel's Apes, Moench recalled: "Roy called me in and told me that Marvel had acquired the rights to Planet of the Apes. He said Gerry Conway was going to do it, but he had to drop out... I enjoyed the first film a lot. I cannot say I was a big fan of the franchise. I liked the second one, but not quite as much. It was better than most sequels. I’m not even really sure I saw the third one. I know I didn’t bother with the last two. I wrote them from the screenplays. That's why the comic adaptations are not accurate with the finished films. I’ve been asked by many fans “Why did you put that in there?” about several scenes. I worked from the screen plays, so the stories were accurate but not all of the scenes made the final cuts of the films. I was accused of taking all these liberties, but at the same time they would tell me the scenes were really good. Everything had to be sent to APJAC Productions and I know there were some issues with the art. It was always things like, 'The character can’t look like Charlton Heston.' In the original stories I did with Mike Ploog and Tom Sutton there were never any complaints that I know of."''Doug Moench interview, ''Comic Book Marketplace, May 1999 In addition to the movie adaptations, Doug Moench also wrote all of the original Apes stories featured in the magazine, including Terror on the Planet of the Apes, Evolution's Nightmare, Kingdom on an Island of the Apes, Future History Chronicles and Quest for the Planet of the Apes. Moench later revealed details of how some of these stories would have evolved, as detailed in 'Timeline of the Planet of the Apes: The Definitive Chronology' by Rich Handley. The Marvel adapations of the first three movies and Terror on the Planet of the Apes were revived by Malibu Graphics and re-issued in 'graphic novel' book form in 1990/1991. Bibliography The following bibliography lists Doug's credited work as it pertains to the Planet of the Apes. * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #1 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #2 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #3 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #4 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #5 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #6 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #7 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #8 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #9 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #10 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #11 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #12 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #13 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #14 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #15 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #16 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #17 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #18 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #19 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #20 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #21 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #22 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #23 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #24 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #25 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #26 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #27 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #28 * Planet of the Apes (Magazine) #29 * Adventures on the Planet of the Apes #1 * Adventures on the Planet of the Apes #2 * Adventures on the Planet of the Apes #3 * Adventures on the Planet of the Apes #4 * Adventures on the Planet of the Apes #5 * Adventures on the Planet of the Apes #6 * Adventures on the Planet of the Apes #7 * Adventures on the Planet of the Apes #8 * Adventures on the Planet of the Apes #9 * Adventures on the Planet of the Apes #10 * Adventures on the Planet of the Apes #11 External Links * Doug Moench article at Wikipedia * Doug Moench article at the Marvel Comics Database References Category:Comic Writers Category:Male Production Crew Members